So I’ve embarked upon what I’m tentatively calling my Windows Project.

First portrait on deck: Ashley.

Ashley is one of the three gorgeous women I live with. It’s hard to sum up another person in a few words, but she is smart, playful, adventurous, and affectionate. She’s also genuinely unaware of how lovely she is, which only adds to the whole package.

We took these near Moon Park in Costa Mesa one morning before she left for work, and I love what I see of her in these images.

Nixon brought his tiny blue bike and had fun riding around — until an epic trip down a decent-sized bank ended in a bit of a tumble.

Thankfully a maintenance crew was doing some work, and his spirits were lifted by our repeated tractor sitings!

I love the shots of Jana alone… the light on her hair, and her sweet smile… and I like the shots of Nixon exploring.

A perfect afternoon!

Their innocence and curiosity intrigues me and often makes me laugh. It also often makes for a challenging shoot, which is part of what makes it fun!

My goal here was simple enough: take some shots of 9-month-old Jackson swathed in cashmere blankets, then get a few more with his beautiful 13-year-old sister Zoe.

The light was nice, the blankets were soft, and Jackson was adorable.

But he didn’t want to be swathed in blankets.

He wanted to crawl. And he wanted to play with my camera.

So we’d set him down on the floor, and I’d start shooting as he crawled right toward my camera. Then we’d pick him up, set him down again, and he’d head right back over to me.

After 30 minutes he was ready for a break… and I was finally able to get the sweet shots of him being held by Zoe.

We’d been friends in Raleigh, NC for years, and then they moved to California. Which was great for them, but a bit of drag for me, since they’re part of my unofficial extended family.

I missed seeing artsy movies with Bets and debating random things with Gregg. And I sorely missed Rachel, who I’ve known since birth. Her birth, that is.

I visited them in California. Visited again. Prayed, thought about it, talked about it with my family… and in 2002 moved out here for my own little California adventure!

Getting back to the present… on New Year’s Eve we went to the stables for a quick family portrait. It was midday — not an ideal time for photos — but we found a bit of interesting light, G-Force cooperated (with the help of yummy treats), and we got some fun shots.

Of all my work to date, the photo of Rachel with G-Force is my absolute favorite. Partly because I adore her, and also because of the fabulously setting!

Sean and Daria met through mutual friends, and the night they met Sean asked her to dance. Which is noteworthy because he never asked girls to dance.

She said yes, they danced and talked for a long time… and the rest is history!

We took their engagement pictures at Corona del Mar, where Sean had proposed. The weather was perfect and the light was amazing, and it was fun to capture their chemistry.

It’s kind of odd, when you think about it, and it’s hard to imagine what someone from a different part of the world might think about us if all they knew about our culture was that we put our babies in watering cans.

But when I got to Lara’s house and saw the insanely cute pea-pod outfit she’d bought for him on Etsy, it became very clear why we put babies in bowls: because it’s adorable!

She also gives great hugs, which I consider to be a huge bonus feature.

I recently did a family portrait and took pictures of the kids while we waited for Ben to get home from work.

Ben built an awesome tree house in their back yard — using ropes to secure it to the tree! Impressive! Since my brother and I spent a huge portion of our summers climbing trees and hanging out in our own tree house (thank you Daddy), I was stoked to climb the ladder on their tree to get some shots of Silas on the swing.

That said, I particularly look forward to shoots with my friend Lara. With her it’s a collaborative process (for example, the shots in the turquoise play room on a kids chair were her idea), which makes the whole thing twice as fun. She’s up for anything, has great ideas, and I love love love being with her.

We recently did a maternity shoot then gathered up her twin boys Jax and Xander to do a mini-family shoot.

I use the term babysit loosely…. the truth is I was totally excited to hang out with her, and loved every second of listening to her stories, reading books with her, and watching her sing and dance her way around the house.

A bonus feature of being with the kids of people you love is getting to see parts of them in their children.

As I watched Eden’s face I could see Ben’s eyes and Bronwen’s facial expressions… all wrapped up in the amazing uniqueness of their sweet little girl!

For Father’s day my dad wanted me to take some pictures of the beach with my new camera, so I got there right at sunset and happily got the following shots. At first I was shivering because it was quite windy, but by the end my pants were wet from kneeling at the water’s edge to get the reflection of the sky in the wet sand. Loved it!

Happy Father’s Day, daddy! Thanks for believing in me and fostering my love of all that the Lord’s created. I love you.